Doug Ferguson

CHICAGO-LAND TOUR: TRUSTED CHOICE TOC RECAP

by Doug Ferguson

This past weekend, a wealth of talent was on display at the Third Annual Trusted Choice Tournament of Champions just outside of Peoria, IL. It was an interesting setup of several mini, round-robin tournaments which boasted several marquee matchups of nationally recognized players. Some panned out, some didn’t…..but I was there for all of them.

Wow! 20% off comes in handy this time of year.

The Helitech National Tournament featured what was to be the matchup of matchups never panned out in the final. It was to be the big debut of John Henson (Scout.com’s #3 rated player for 2009) for Tampa Sickles. On the other side, Mike Shaw of De La Salle (Chicago) is consistently in the top 10 of nearly anyone who is rating the class of 2011. It wasn’t to be however, as Henson did not play a single minute in Sickles three games.

The disappointment of Henson not playing was soon forgotten due to the superb play of Shaw and De La Salle who blew through the tournament with more gust than the snowstorm that rampaged through Central Illinois over the weekend. They won their games by an average of 26 points Including a 23 point massacre of Sickles in the final. Jordan Davis, a returning all-state selection with Sickles, looked to suffer a severe knee injury during the final and missed a good portion of the first half. He was able to return to the floor, but by then the game was out of hand. Shaw put an exclamation point on the action when he windmill dunked a ball thrown off the glass intentionally by Nick Fisher during a two-on-one break that sent the crowd through the roof.

It was a real coming out party for both Shaw and sophmore swingman Dre’ Henley who averaged over 18 points again for the tournament. Shaw proved he could be the inside force on both ends that the Meteors need, despite his skills away from the basket. Henley proved he has guard skills in a body that will probably ended up being 6-foot-8 when its all said and done. The all-tournament team (which oddly consisted of 6 players) was made up of Shaw, Henley, Davis, Andy Fisher (De La Salle), Memphis Rccruit Nolan Dennis of Richland (TX) HS, and tournament MVP Derek Needham of De La Salle (Farfield commit).

Henson’s mysterious injury was the talk of everyone right down to the tournaments award presenter. He jokingly gave Henson the honorary award of “World’s Tallest Waterboy”. Henson cracked a smile, but did not look to be very amused.

The field was deep in the Helitech National, but looked like the NIT compared to the Methodist Medical Centers Invatational. The field was so loaded that Fayette County (GA) HS, a team with 2009 top 30 player Noel Johnson, finished 0-3 for the weekend. The tournament also featured host tournament Washington HS (2008 Illinois State Finalist), Lake Forest Academy (IL) who were the biggest of the 16 teams at the event, and nationally ranked Kinston (NC) HS, which featured 2010 North Carolina commit Reggie Bullock.

Size reigned supreme in the consolation game as Lake Forest barrelled through Fayette County with their superior inside play. Angus Brandt led the way for Lake Forest using his muscle to snowplow the undersized team from Georgia. The real story was Johnson who set the tournament’s all-time scoring record. He also guarded the other team’s biggest player as well as ran the point.

Johnson’s scoring record wouldn’t even survive the next game though as Reggie Bullock would eclipse it in the finals. The gymnasium was packed for their hometown Washington Panthers as they took on Kinston. Washington gave them a good game for about 2 1/2 quarters before their 3′s stopped falling and Bullock’s started dropping.

Bullock would garner tourney MVP honors as he may have been the most lethal offensive player in any of the tournaments. Brandt, Johnson, Ben Worner (Washington), and Dyricus Sims-Edwards (Washington) made up the rest of the all-tourney team.

It was my birthday this weekend and usually I don’t get presents anymore. This year however, my present was getting to watch high school hoops at a world class level and it was the best present I’ve had since my 87 Air Jordan’s in 2nd grade. Its almost a certainty that we will hear from many of these teams again before season’s end.

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